


Jemma Fitzsimmons, Seven and a Half Weeks Later

by MissIzzy



Series: Walking Behind With a Bucket [41]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Post-Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Post-Season/Series 05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:58:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17862533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissIzzy/pseuds/MissIzzy
Summary: They knew for more than one reason it was going to come to this.





	Jemma Fitzsimmons, Seven and a Half Weeks Later

They call their file of Robin’s final set of drawings the Photo Album. May even has a printed out notebook of them on her desk. Jemma just keeps them on her phone. She’s looked at the one of her standing before what looks like Fitz’s cyrochamber so much she can see it when she closes her eyes.

That’s not the drawing she and the director are looking at right now. Instead, they’re examining a drawing where she’s facing off with a pair of soldiers, all three of them with their guns drawn. Behind her is a group of civilians. One of them has very shaggy hair and a vaguely feline-like tail.

It’s that one May points to, saying “We’ve managed to identify him. His name is Tim Hearns, and he lives in Philadelphia. He registered with the government four months ago when he went through Terrigenesis, and as far as anyone knows nobody’s gone after him yet; the bigger cities have still been safer for Inhumans than other places. He’s described as having ‘slight superstrength’; apparently he can lift a table easily. The rest of them could really be anybody.”

“But they’re probably superpowered,” Jemma says, because that’s obvious. Especially now, with the pair of executive orders Ross has just signed, but she thought as much already. “Probably not registered either, and who can blame them? Poor Mr. Hearns couldn’t hide it, obviously. Although at least some of them can protect themselves-there’s at least one picture in here of that, I know-but most of them, with no training whatsoever…”

“As soon as the rumors started,” says May, “I started pulling in all the contacts we potentially have. Including, by the way, Anne Weaver, though so far I haven’t managed to track her down-I’ll want you to contact her when we can. Unfortunately I have yet to convince the Queen of New Attilan that the U.S. Government is unlikely to be able to tap into our more secure lines, so all she’s willing to say to me is that for now she’ll take in any Inhumans who come to her island, but she won’t give me any numbers on how many people that place can sustain.”

“Not all the world’s Inhuman population, definitely,” says Jemma. “We may not know their exact numbers, but unless they can find someone with an ability to greatly increase their food and power supply, I think all the registered ones confirmed as still alive would strain them, and I do think there are many more who aren’t. And would they all want to go there anyway? New Attilan is still U.S. protectorate, and could they really hold out against the U.S. Army if…if…” There’s more than one scenario Jemma could think of where it might come to that, all of them dreadful.

“That’s why they’re not the only government I’ve been in touch with. I’m pretty sure we could get Canada to take in at least some superpowered people, maybe also some countries in the Eastern Hemisphere, but of course we would have to get them across the ocean.

“Do you want me to work on stealth things?” Jemma asks. “Whenever I’m not drawing guns against the army?” The whole idea of that should scare her more than it does, but, well, even if what Robin first saw got undone in the end, she refuses to believe she won’t live to stand over that chamber. “Obviously if we had Fitz with us we could do better, but...”

“On the ground things, yes. We may have rescued quite a few people already, but this is on a scale where we can’t even do it alone. I’m hoping we won’t have to, that there will be other people who will decide to help their neighbors on their own, and we just have to find them. I might even send you out to do that, though I would ask you to try not to get caught. We don’t need to rush that happening.

I’m afraid between all this, even if we do find out where Fitz is…”

She’s had that thought in her head since May called her here, and much as it pains her, she knows what the answer must be. “He wouldn’t want to be rescued early at the cost of these people.” That’s the main reason she can say this, that everything the later version of him said to her, when they had time to talk about the rumors going around about the Inhumans, makes her certain he wouldn’t be able to stand being prioritized over them. “There’s no reason to think he won’t be fine staying asleep a few extra months.” If, of course, he’s still alive now.

But that, and whom they’ve been in contact with over it, gives her another thought. “You know, Professor Weaver and Pepper Potts were good friends. I know you don’t want to trust her entirely…”

May nods. “Thanks for telling me that. I’ll bring her name up next time we talk, tell you if we get anything out of her. And I’ll tell you when we know exactly where we’re going and what we’re doing. Until then, as I said, on the ground concealment.”

“Of course.” Jemma’s already thinking about improving their metal detector jammers, increasing their range, maybe even rigging them to disrupt other electronics. There’s a drawing in the Album of Daisy holding one above her head with a group of frightened-looking people clustered around her, so obviously they’re going to find more use.


End file.
